By Ambassador Robert Godec Kenyans have talked about corruption for years. Kenyans know it is undermining the country’s prosperity, security, development, and even democracy. In a recent Pew Research Centre survey, 91 percent of Kenyans called government corruption a “very big problem.” What’s needed now, however, is not talk, but serious, sustained action. The United States stands with Kenya in the fight against corruption, but the scourge will continue unless Kenyans themselves put a stop to it. Kenyans can do it and the steps needed are clear. In July 2015, President Obama and President Kenyatta made an unprecedented pledge –…

By Daniel Njenga The world we are living in is in turmoil. Governments, institutions and individuals are being asked to account for sins of their forefathers. In the United States, schools are being renamed to rid them of names associated with slavery. Judges in the UK have asked the government of the day to make restitutions for crimes committed during the colonialism era. Turkey’s massacre of Armenians is coming back to haunt the current day government. Truly, hindsight is 20-20. In Kenya, the re-distribution of land post-independence is our Achilles heel. Intellectuals and politicians have now emerged to open old…

By Washington Osiro | marloow@yahoo.com Shortly after Tuesday’s election, I had a long heart-to-heart with someone I consider not only a good friend, but a good being. Matt (not his real name) is a white male in his mid-40s. He is also a father and gearhead extraordinaire. The “hombre” is absolutely gifted with his hands and otherworldly mechanical aptitude. Simply looking at him and knowing his background, one would conclude that he is indeed one of the many “angry non-college educated white male” that supported Donald Trump’s run for the presidency. You’d be forgiven for thinking that he is one…

By ANTONY KARANJA in DALLAS, TEXAS The 2016 Presidential election is mercifully drawing near and signaling the end of the of the madness in the US political arena. If you have not been bombarded mercilessly by panicking Hillary Clinton supporters, you surely have been ticked off by the “Bernie-or Bust” fadeouts who still want to prove that Bernie was the better choice. Let us not forget the Trump supporters who will yell at anything with the color blue. As if the above is not driving you mad-crazy, enter the ever entertaining polls-not! If there is anything that has been as…

Dear Mr President My name is Tim Kipchumba,a 30 year old young entrepreneur.I am the first born of my parent’s 4 siblings and a father to two awesome boys.I was born in Elgeiyo Marakwet District- some 450KM North East of Nairobi. My dad worked for our government. He worked for the ministry of public works for close to 25 years. He barely got 3 promotions in that time. He earned much less then the money our MP’s would pay for one breakfast. At one point he earned as little as Kes 3,000. And even though he rarely took leave fixing roads,…

Dear Ezekiel Mutua, pride comes before a fall! For a man so petulant and with no talent to write home about, Ezekiel Mutua is doing very well for himself. He is proof that in Kenya, you do not need to be remarkably brilliant, well-educated and eloquent to hold high office. You just need the wherewithal to sail through to the highest government offices. Read: Ezekiel Mutua brags on Facebook about getting a dilpoimatic passport, “shames” haters ahead of US trip Mutua represents everything that is wrong with the Kenyan society today. How we reward people like Mutua to wear the tag…

By DR EMMANUEL MANYASA I think at the forthcoming election ethnicity will still be the major factor. But I also think that reducing the number of political parties is a positive move in cutting down on ethnicity in politics: The fewer the political parties going into the election, the better. Two or three political parties/coalitions would make it difficult for people to retreat into community/regional political parties and cut the attendant nonsense of joining the “our own party so we can negotiate” type of politics. Second, I think we really need to see a leader arise who can harness the…

By Washington M. Osiro Congolese musician Koffi Olomide was caught on camera assaulting (kicking) one of his female dancers outside Kenya’s Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA). Unfortunately for the musician and thanks to the ubiquitous presence of smartphones w/camera, retribution was fast, furious and exacting — especially by Kenyan standards. Within twenty-four hours of the assault, the scheduled concert by the MC Hammer pants-wearing Ndombolo dancing performer was canceled. After spending the night in jail, Koffi along with his entourage were put on the next flight out of Nairobi. Videos circulating on social media showed that upon landing in Kinshasa,…

When I heard the news that I’d been given the opportunity to join Free The Children on their Me To We trip to the Masai Mara as part of AOL’s annual CSR initiative, I had no idea what to expect. This was an experience I had heard so many positive stories about from colleagues that had taken part in previous years, all of which recounted how the experience changed their lives and altered their perspective on the world. As with most bold claims, it’s hard to empathise with statements like that and I found it hard to feel the full…

By Wallace Kantai This weekend I went to visit a friend of mine. His neighbour has put his house on the rental market. It’s a beautiful four-bedroomed bungalow, with a two-bedroomed servants’ quarters, on a quarter acre of land. He’s put it on the market for KSh 120,000 a month. I asked around about how much similar houses are sold for in that neighbourhood, and the prices are in excess of KSh 40 million. Let’s take a minute to digest and analyse that. If you paid cash for that house and rented it out, you would make your money back…